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Friday, 5 September 2014

Sue and I are both members of English Heritage, and over recent weeks we have visited several of their properties, including Lullingstone Roman Villa and Eynsford Castle. One property that we had not visited was Upnor Castle, which is situated on the River Medway near Strood on the opposite bank of the river from the former Chatham Naval Dockyard.

The drive to Upnor took us under forty minutes, and we parked in the village car park. From there we walked along a short path through some trees ... and out into the High Street.

We walked down the High Street towards the River Medway, passing some wonderful examples of local building styles.

Where the road ends there is a house with a unique gazebo at the end of the garden ...

... opposite which is the entrance to Upnor Castle.

A brief history of Upnor Castle

The building of the castle began in 1559 when the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth I ordered that a bulwark be built at Upnor. The original fortification was designed by Sir Richard Lee (the foremost English military engineer of his day) and the work was overseen by his deputy, Humphrey Locke, and Richard Watts, a former Mayor of Rochester and subsequently paymaster, clerk-of-the-store, and purveyor of Upnor Castle.

The work took some time to complete, and it was not finished until 1567. BY 1587 England was at war with Spain and at the suggestion of the castle's master Gunner a chain was stretched from the castle across the River Medway to the other bank of the river. This was to prevent any enemy ships sailing up the river in order to attack English ships that were moored at Chatham. At the time of the possible Spanish invasion in 1588 the castle's garrison included a Master Gunner and six gunners, and by 1596 it had expanded to include eighty trained men ... who cost 8d per day in pay.

In 1600 a wooden palisade was erected on the seaward side of the castle to protect the bastion and the defences were further enhanced by a the digging of a ditch on the landward side. The was 18' deep and 32' wide. At the same time extensive repairs were carried out to the Castle. the stone being 'robbed' (i.e. salvaged) from the derelict Rochester Castle.

During the English Civil War the castle was held by Parliament and served as a prison for captured Royalist officers. It was temporarily captured by Royalist forces during the Kentish Rising of 1648, but was soon recaptured ... and more repairs were undertaken. Even more repairs were required after a serious fire broke out in the Gatehouse in early 1653.

When the Second Dutch War broke out the castle's garrison was brought up to strength even though the English Government felt that the Dutch Navy had been neutralised after a series of naval victories. A significant number of Royal Navy ships were therefore moored in the River Medway in and around Chatham rather than being kept at sea, relying upon the coastal and river defences to protect them.

In June 1667 the Dutch fleet, under the command of Admiral de Ruyter, sailed up the River Thames as far as Gravesend. They then attacked and destroyed the unfinished fort at Sheerness at the entrance to the River Medway. They followed this success up with an attack on on the Royal Charles, which was moored behind a chain that had been stretched between Hoo Ness and Gillingham. The chain failed to stop the Dutch advance up the river, and on the following day the Dutch sailed upriver again, this time to attack the ships at Chatham.

By this time the Duke of Albemarle (the former General Monck) had arrived to take command of the defences, and he ordered several artillery batteries to be set up along the River Medway, including an eight-gun one alongside Upnor Castle. Fire from the castle and these batteries did not prevent the Dutch from setting fire to several ships moored at Chatham, but it did prevent them from making any further progress upriver.

In the aftermath of the Second Dutch War Upnor Castle was seen as a vital part of the Chatham defences, but as newer fortifications were built, its importance declined, and by 1668 it was no longer regarded as suitable and was converted into a store and powder magazine. In 1827 its role changed again and it became an Ordnance Laboratory, and in 1891 it was passed from the War Office to the Admiralty. During the Second World War the castle was part of the Royal Navy Magazine Establishment,and in 1945 it became a museum.

Our route around Upnor Castle

We entered the castle ...

... via the Gatehouse.

We entered the Courtyard, and to the right we could see a large oak tree that is reputed to have grown from an acorn that was brought back from the Crimea.

To our left we saw the stump of a matching oak tree as well as the tiny entrance to the Sallyport to its left.

We then entered the Main Building ...

... which contained a number of cannon barrels, ...

... some examples of powder barrels, ...

... several small artillery pieces (including a small calibre quick-firing gun mounted on a very unusual pole carriage ...

... and a 7-pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading Mountain Gun), ...

... and a display that tells the story of the 1667 Dutch attack using lighting techniques and a recorded commentary.

The display includes a very nice model of Upnor Castle which appears to be garrisoned with 15mm-scale Essex Miniatures.

We then made our way down a very steep wooden spiral staircase ...

... and out onto the Bastion.

Two smooth-bore cannons were emplaced on the bastion and gave a good idea as to how the castle's guns commanded this narrow stretch of the River Medway.

We then walked through a gateway at the bottom of the North Tower, ...

... along a bricked-lined passageway ...

... that took us out through a further gateway ...

... and outside onto the North Platform.

From there we made our way back through the gateway in the north wall of the castle and into the Courtyard.

Between the North Tower and the Main Building two more smooth-bore cannon were on display ...

... and these were matched by a further cannon that was emplaced between the Main Building and the South Tower.

During our visit to Upnor Castle we also climbed up to the top of the gatehouse and up to the second floor of the Main Building. There was not a great deal to see in the Gatehouse except for the clock mechanism that powers the castle's clock, and the second floor of the Main Building was set up for use as a wedding venue. (The castle is licenced for use as a venue for civil weddings.)
We would certainly recommend a visit to Upnor Castle. There is lots to see, it is not too difficult to reach by car, and it is close to other tourist attractions such as Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral, Chatham Dockyard, Fort Amhurst, and the Royal Engineers Museum.

10 comments:

That takes me back! I visited Upnor on a school trip when I was boy living in Sheerness. As an aside Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey was occupied by the Dutch briefly during the raid up the Medway and was technically Dutch terrotory until quite recently.

The town of Queenborough used to have a couple of Dutch-themed pubs as well.

I must go back to the castle at some point - and back to Sheerness as well to visit the former naval dockyard.

... you are made of stronger stuff than me though, if I visit a castle, find a floor plan, take loads of pics, then see a model of it it is inevitable that in just a few hours of arriving ho,e I'll be up to my neck in polystyrene offcuts.

There is so much of interest in the area around Chatham that it would be very easy to spend days visiting them all. I strongly recommend that you return to your boyhood roots to refresh your memories of them!

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.